Prediction: U.S. Will Beat England In World Cup

Psychology is not to be underestimated when it comes to sport, especially the World Cup and soccer. In this summer’s clash of the giants between the United States and England, I believe the game will not come down to who is the better team on the day, but will instead focus on which team is more psychologically prepared to overcome its opponent. And for that reason, I predict the United States will defeat England.

The World Cup game between England and the United States on June 12 in Rustenburg means more to the USA than it does to England. Yes, England desperately wants to beat the United States and will be doing everything it can to impress manager Fabio Capello as well as to win it for themselves and their country. But the game for U.S. players and fans takes on an even greater importance. The United States will be going into this game as if they’re playing a World Cup Final. It’s that important. U.S. soccer fans and players know the message a win would send to the rest of the world. And it would be a perfect opportunity to do it against a country which has long criticized and laughed at US soccer, its players and specatators. If U.S. players ever wanted to put soccer on the map in the United States, they know that this is their biggest chance in decades.

For England, all of the pressure is on them. The team is expected to win and win convincingly. I find it patronizing that a lot of the English pundits and celebrities (such as Terry Venables and Noel Gallagher, just to name two of many) warn that the United States should not be underestimated. But, at the same time, they slap U.S. soccer in the face by saying how fit the team is. That’s like saying Gallagher has a good voice but can’t sing. Many of the British talking heads only praise the American players on their fitness rather than their skill. Yes, on paper, England is a more experienced team but that’s not to say that the Americans are not talented. They most definitely are.

The other thing about the United States men’s national team is that they have a greater self belief. England often bottle under the pressure and have difficulty composing themselves when it matters most. For the United States, they usually do the opposite. The games they shouldn’t win, they play incredibly. And the games that they should win handsomely, they crumble. They truly are a Jekyll and Hyde side. But when they go in as underdogs, as they will do against England, the team will bond and play their hearts out for their country knowing a win will take them to the promised land.

England, on the other hand, feel they’re in an easy group. Many of them won’t admit it publicly, but the pundits are already thinking about the second round and a potential match-up against Germany. The U.S., I believe, are more focused on the game against England because everyone knows how important it is for the country. An England win against the United States will be a blip on the radar in terms of news headlines. But a U.S. victory against England will be front-page news on every major newspaper around the world on Sunday, June 13.

I admit that psychology isn’t everything. The U.S. team is suffering from a long list of injury problems and has a major issue of not having a proven goalscorer up front who has consistently scored on a regular basis for his club and country. But just as Manchester United perfected a 4-6-0 formation in previous seasons, that tactic may work well for the States too.

Lastly, let me add that the above article is in no way based on England’s juvenile performance against Mexico at Wembley on Monday. Friendlies are often a poor reflection of a team’s capabilities especially when several first team players aren’t playing. Instead, I base my prediction on the foundation of sound players the United States has (many of whom play in England) and the sheer importance of this game for the American players and how much more it means to them than it does to England’s footballers. Roll on June 12th.

About The Author

Publisher of World Soccer Talk, Christopher Harris founded the site in 2005. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Guardian and several other publications. Plus he has made appearances on NPR, BBC World, CBC, BBC Five Live, talkSPORT and beIN SPORT.
Harris, who was born and raised in Wales, has lived in Florida since 1984, and supported Swansea City since 1979. Last but not least, he got engaged during half-time of a MLS game.

107 Comments

Richard the Red (Devil)May 25, 2010

Who is going to score for this US team? I just don’t see it. They are weak up front. This is the opening match for both squads and clearly the pressure will be on the shoulders of the Three Lions. Cole, Lamps, and Terry were all missing yesterday(as was Carrick but that’s a different story) and those players are huge pieces to England’s puzzle. I think England wins this comfortably by two goals. It’s going to be a bit of a wakeup call for the Yanks. That being said, I do believe they’ll get through the group as runner-ups.

I agree, a very optimistic article by the Gaffer. In the Mexico game we missed the Carrick/Gerrard and Terry/Lampard partnerships. Not to mension a recently in-form Ashley cole, and if Rooney is at half his best he will have the USA defence running ragged!

We have a superior coach and bench not to mention better individuals all over the pitch..( OK Brad Friedel, ill give you that one).

I wouldnt bet on a USA victory if i was you Gaffer! All this talk about USA playing like its a knockout game…The USA will need to, England have enough fire-power to win at a canter.

look you overconfident britts dnt underestimate us were alot better than ya think and also you saw how we played against spain and brzil 2 teams that are way better than and thats a fact what have england done lately any way last world cup uuh idk back when my grandpa was a teen

Well if it was up to the fans, USA are going to win. I admire America’s ‘positive can do attitude’ and I think this transfers to the team. I know English fans are only protecting themselves after years of disappointment, but let’s be honest, England have a reasonable team and should do OK – so GO ENGLAND!

I think it means more to the England players than it does to the USA players to be honest. The USA players don’t have the pressure of their country expecting them to win. Are they playing for their country? Yes, of course they are, and they’ll want to do their country proud. But there’s not going to be much of a backlash in The States if they get beat, in contrast to the backlash there’d be in England if they got beat.

Thats not true. Everyone i know is expecting usa to win. they have a strong team and theres no doubt. if anyone disagrees they obviously dont watch soccer. England obviously has a strong team too but i think Usa will want to win it more since they finally have a good team and england is overconfident thinking the usa is terrible. I say USA-2 ENGLAND-1

Ironically, no one I know is expecting the USA to win, and there’s only a select few people that actually are aware of the USA’s World Cup schedule. Most know about the England match for the sake of it being England. They’re faintly unaware of the United States’ games against Slovenia and Algeria.

It’s a tad bit sad, and quite a bit pathetic. The ones I do know that are soccer fans will see the USA not making the knockout stage a failure. So they’ll be small pockets of backlash, but I don’t anticipate any backlash should the USA lose by any goal margin. It’s expected.

Gaffer, im not sure what qualifies you as a football analyst other than your accent, but that alone leaves a lot to be desired in terms of the obviously lack of knowledge, understanding, and and comprehension of football.

You say the USA will do well against england based on the performance of the USA players in the EPL. Please explain that comment in relation to the USA starting forward scoring 1 goal in a 38 game season?

You do realize this is a Blog, and we view you as a blogger not a knowledgeable football analyst

What is The Gaffer supposed to blog about if not his thoughts and analysis? A bit over-sensitive, aren’t we?

I’m very intrigued to see how the U.S. fares in its first game, especially when looking back at how god-awful they were in the first matches of WC 2006 and Confed Cup 2009. Will the fact that they face England get them more focused and ready to roll, or will they play timidly under the spotlight as they have in past competitions? History tells me not to set my hopes too high, but I’m going into it with a bit of foolish optimism, I guess…

I think if the Confederations Cup squad show up in South Africa, then the US can beat England and advance. Don’t underestimate confidence – the players have confidence in Bradley and their own ability.

I can’t see anything other than an England win, but it’l be the toughest match for them in the group. It’s crucial for USA to beat Algeria and Slovenia, because they were facnied in 2006 and went out with a whimper.

Well you have convinced yourself but you’ll have to go some to convince me. The performance last night was the worst i’ve seen england play in a long time and they probably still would have beat the U.S so i don’t see how you can come to the conclusion you have done when england won’t play that bad again

England is overconfident, Usa actually takes pride and has a very strong team mentally and physically. THe only player on england who actually gives a damn about his country is terry. all the rest only are in it for money. SO if u think england will take it that easy then so be it, ull be surprised to see how it turns out. USA-2 ENGLAND-1

Ease up on the Gaffer. If you dislike his thoughts so much read the paper
(oh wait they just make stuff up and pass it as news).
As for the game. It depends on what team Bob Bradley puts out there. USA could sit back and defend and with a top 5 keeper, it won’t be easy for England to score. A draw would be seen as a win for USA where a draw would be seen as a failure for England.
Overall England has a much deeper and skilled team. But you saw what a motivated Altidore can do (ask Puyol). With the right momentum USA could win.
That being said 1-1 result is what I see.

The hype on England has almost gone full circle to the point where they are actually under rated.

Many English players are border-line world class and will demonstrate this in South Africa. Playing an evening game in a milder climate than usual will show England’s capabilities and that simply means a comprehensive defeat of USA.

I hope Bob Bradley was watching last night’s match at Wembley. And if you don’t think England are nervous POKER RAKEBACK you ought to go back to your DVR and take a look at Capello’s face during most of the match. Very flattering scoreline and although it was only a friendly, with England’s bi-polar disorder when it comes to its national team, many a face painted with st. george’s flag will be very nervous with how a bit of pace split the defense wide open. Carrick and Milner looked positively lost holding midfield and although pundits say Ledley King is England’s best defender, he looked exposed several times last night. You’d better hope Gareth Barry is fit! If Donovan and Dempsey can replicate what Dos Santos and Vela did in spurts last night, big, big trouble for England.

All this will take is the United States going up a goal, and England will melt down. Will it happen? Sure is fun to speculate.

@ M.Garcia. I have no need to watch the game again, I saw the performance and was not impressed by it. But like I said in my previous comment, I have not seen England play that bad for a while and yet we still won. We will play better in the future and to be honest I don’t think The U.S has the players to keep the ball as well as mekkico did last night.
We played poor, we did not pass the ball well, we had players such as A.Cole, Lampard and Terry missing and yet we still won.
After i watched the game last night, i was V Unhappy with the performance but the more i thought about everything the more i feel that it may be a blessing. Gerrard looked better in the centre and i think fabio knows he should play there now, milner has shown he cannot play there, carrick was poor and might be left out.
Crouch and defoe were both poor which makes me think fabio will play rooney up front on his own, (which is what i want.)
Sometimes good things come out of poor games and i think last nights game was one of those where these issues will be dealt with and England Will come out of it a stronger team. If england had of won easy last night we may not have done the things that needed to be done and therefore i think it’s better to find this out now than when it’s too late.
Watch out America is all i can say because you are gonna get the backlash of this poor performance

You’re saying that the US can’t keep the ball as well as the Mexican team? I question this because I would say that our midfield is a notch above Mexico. Our starting squad will be made up of all European league midfielders while Mexico only have two playing in Europe. I belive Dempsey and Donovan have proved themselves in Europe (England) and Holden has great pace and was recently recognized by joining Bolton.

Again not saying that we won’t have trouble against the England squad but defence and midfield are where we excel, our forwards are where we admittedly have the most issues.

I think it’s a great matchup and I expect both teams to advance. I expect England to win, a draw wouldn’t suprise me and I’d be very please with a win!

“All this will take is the United States going up a goal, and England will melt down.”

Melt down? LOL. That’s ridiculous.

The USA going a goal up early would probably be the best thing for England, it’ll get them fired up and they’ll really start to bring the game to the USA then.

The best thing the USA fans can hope for is that England go 1-0 early on and then take their foot of the gas and go into cruise mode for the majority of the game, only for the USA to grab an equaliser late on, earning them a draw.

The only, ONLY way the US will win is if somehow England lets up a counter-attack goal in the first 20 minutes, or England gets a red card. Where is the offense for the US? Did you see how poor the US looked against Holland in March? The scoreline was flattering to the US if you watched the match. I do think the US has a chance to get out of their group, but they won’t beat England.

first off that was march. and usa has donavan and altidore up top, two world class strikers so if u think england will win no matter wat, then u dont watch soccer, u just assume and listen to everyone else. have a mind of ur own and watch usa play. they are a strong team and want the win alot more then england. Usa will win just watch

I hope the US team are taking this game seriously and not thinking in the way you are. If they think “oh we will sweep them to one side in the first few minutes of the match” then they are going to be taken apart systematically.

You have to take the games in front of you seriously what you are suggesting is suicide and I do question your knowledge of football. Watching the sport for a number of years doesn’t really mean anything, if you use computers for a decade it doesn’t mean you can design an operating system.

The US will give any team in the group stage a run for their money as long as they don’t get too confident and decide they can lay back and win easily, if they decide that they will lose by a wide margin.

USA will take the lead 1-0 in the 6th minute. We’re all celebrating and then Bob Bradley decides “Okay boys let’s park that bus!”. They then proceed to pick us apart, but luckily Howard makes save after save after save….until he finally cracks and we lose 2 or 3-1.

I think this match will be much closer both in score and competition throughout than some here are predicting. 3-0, really? I can’t see that.

As an American, what we have to hope for is England to underestimate the US and come a little unglued if the US scores first. I can also see England’s confidence being shaky if whoever plays keeper let’s in an easy one.

Finally, those thinking that Altidore is crap based on his performance in England should remember he played for Hull … a team with a bunch of shoot-first, pass-second midfielders and generally a lousy team. Jozy is a completely different player when playing with the likes of Donovan and Dempsey.

From what I’ve read on here and other boards I think England is taking the US a little for granted. Don’t get me wrong, England has more skill and should win but people are writing the US off. The US has the 14th ranked team in the world and England is #8 according to Fifa. It’s not like they are thaaaat far apart.

Again England should win and as much as I hate to say it I believe they will, maybe 2-1 or 3-2. However, the US should move on from group stage as well.

As a USA supporter, I would love to see them beat England, I just don’t see it happening for one main reason, defense. The defense has been playing poorly judged by the recently friendlies and the last few WC qualifiers. I think the biggest issue is injuries and Onyewu’s lack of playing time in 7 months. I don’t think the U.S. can fight back an onslaught like they did against Spain in the Confed. Cup. I don’t think the lack of a big time scoring forward is an issue since most of the goals the U.S. scores come from set pieces. I really hope the U.S. doesn’t get the red card bug like the Confederations Cup.

USA Soccer is a joke. Only Gaffer and the mad man Krishnaiyer thinks USA has a chance. I’m American but support England. I watch the Premier League and feel a connection with the English players. I don’t know the US players. I don’t watch MLS. MLS plays in the wrong season and is too slow. I would rather watch baseball than MLS and that says a great deal.

The US is annoying at this level. Every four years we hear how strong they are only to collapse without a trace. Krishnaiyer is mad. He may know the sport but cannot hide his blatant anti Chelsea/England biases. He attacks England on Twitter where I stopped following him and writing columns about how this game is for American “self respect.”

I’m American and have plenty of self belief. I’m sorry, Kartik if you need the US Football Team to earn self respect for you.

KK has no credibility when it comes to this subject. He gives good analysis on games like Burnley-Bolton, Villa-Spurs, etc. But he is blinded by hate for England and Chelsea and even said on twitter than Donovan was better than any English midfielder. What a complete tool to make a comment like that. Donovan could not cope in a second tier league like the Bundesliga when every England midfielder would be a star in that league, which is much weaker than the Prem.

Donovan played exceptionally well for Everton this Season! The crowds started chanting ‘USA! USA! USA!’ that is extraordinary for a very anti-American country(on the whole). The Everton chants turned into ‘Let him stay! Let him stay!’ at the end of the season when he was shipped back to the mickey mouse league. Donovan is very dangerous be under no illusion!

I give the US very little hope in this game – sorry. Capello is thorough in his preparation and motivation is one thing but matters very little in comparison with technique and tactics. The scoreline won’t be comprehensive but it will be comfortable – 2-0.

ESPN3.com will archive all matches through duration of the tournament (ABC matches, not simulcast on ESPN3.com, will go up at about 2 AM overnight). ESPN Classic will re-air all WC matches each night. ESPN2 will also feature lots of re-airs.

So with all the English giving the US no chance, specifically Steve, UptheBlues, Gordie and Poker… I have a question.

If England and Brazil met, would it be likely that England wouldn’t stand a chance? Or what about Spain or Germany? I throw this out because despite what you all have said in regards to the US they are probably as far behind England as England is behind those squads.

Also, the US is the favorite to be the 2nd team out of our group. Wouldn’t you want to take that team seriously and not chalk it up to a win already?

Spain and brazil are the two best teams and one of those will probably win it. I don’t know why you mention germany as they are behind england in my opinion.
I think england could beat spain and brazil as i think there is less between thse teams than i think there is between england and the usa.
The bottom line is football is not won on paper, if it was we wouldn’t need to play the game, Can the usa beat england? yes, but not likely, can england beat spain and brazil? yes, but not likely.
There is less difference between england, spain, and brazil, than there is between england an the usa, it would be a bigger shock to the world of football if you beat us as than it would be if we beat brazil.

While England is undoubtedly the superior side, I don’t agree with your assessment on the gap between England and the other top sides of Spain, Brazil, and even Argentina (though nutjob Maradona probably screwed his chances with some of his omissions). Just like Americans, the English severely over-rate their players. Huddlestone, Barry, Lennon, Carrick, permacrocked King, Walcott, Heskey, all three goalkeepers … none of them would get a sniff from the best teams in the world.

Combine that with Rio’s injury worries, Gerrard’s poor form for pretty much all year, an ever-slowing John Terry, and I’m not sure where all this great confidence comes from.

So Poker, I think we kind of agree here… and yes games have to be played. Paper is fun for speculating and some good banter back and forth though 😉
I think the US gets a bad reputation because of the poor league. However, most of our national squad plays overseas. I think we’re splitting hairs if we try to truly compare the gap between any team but my point is that people obiviously hold their squad in higher regard like Clampdown said below.

I think English folks think that US over England would be a bigger upset while maybe the US would feel England over Brazil or Spain would be a bigger upset. (Obviously US over Brazil or Spain would be the biggest 🙂

Agree. By calling the game the bastardized term for Association football, most Americans (and I am an American) show their ignorance of the sport and their disrespect for its traditions and institutions.

Thank you for clarifying this for tony. I’m soooo tired of hearing people harass us for this. We didn’t create this word as you’ve said. To expand… the english created to differentiate between Rugby Footbal and Association Football.

After reading all of your comments i have to say that we English are in no way confident or over confident. After many years of our country coming together in this glorious celebration and sheer excitement, we know very well to not listen to the media hype, but to expect tears, joyous celebrations, and inexplicable pain and a feeling of “Well it was good while it lasted.” We know what its like for the world to stop, we live it every 4 years.
We dream of it, like a famous tabloid printed in 2002 with no headlines, no pictures, nothing except a St George’s flag bearing the small printed sentence “nothing else matters” Because, in effect to us, nothing does matter. Which is why, and I’m sorry for coming over slightly patronizing, but you cannot simply say this means more to you. You haven’t got the footballing history to even sight a guess of what this could ever mean, we have a country worth of people praying to the footballing gods, this means everything to us.

Anybody who is in England at the time of the world cup will appreciate what this tournament is like. After living in America for some considerable time, it is quite honestly mind-boggling at just how much people just do not care.
So to proclaim that USA beating the English could transpire to being much better in the grand scheme of things for your country is quite frankly, preposterous. If you can make that statement, then it is clear that you do not know much about the world of football, as in the US, the World Cup is a non entity. Nobody cares, they have other sports to rant and rave about. Our life in England revolves around this tournament, our jobs cease to exist, schools cancel lessons. The country stops. Yes it could go a long way to changing the American perception of football, but like everything in america, its fashionable for two minutes until Britney goes shaves her head again.
We may beat you, we may not. However that is for the beautiful game to decide. But we are not overly confident, we’re not even confident, our sports press is, but they are every 4 years, you choose to listen or you ignore.
We may not have played well yesterday, however we did have half of our squad sat watching. It was a friendly, we were testing other options and after winning 3-1 while testing options, in a squad that are not used to playing each other, then well. It speaks for itself. To say that you are a blogger, a writer of types, its clear the benile venom showing your obvious loathsome attitude towards England. Maybe you have got caught up in the media frenzy that we english so often laugh about, our press is what defeated the 2006 team, you shouldn’t let it ruin your opinion either. Or your obviously one sided column.

Imagine you love football, you were born in a country where it doesn’t mean a thing to the overwhelming majority. Imagine that you can hardly find a league growing up to play. Then imagine you are playing on the worlds biggest stage against the country that created the game you’ve loved and fought so hard to be a part of and imagine you win that match…. For me, being a part of that would mean far more to me then beating someone I’m supposed to beat.

A win for a US footballer against England undoubtedly has more meaning than a win for a Brit against the US.

I like many things about England, but the unearned, zingoistic arrogance (or is it wishful thinking?) of their sportswriters and fans is astonishing.

The US could easily beat England on any given day, as recent results against better teams like Spain and Brazil prove. Snotty punditry aside, the difference between the US and British teams is marginal at best. The Americans’ biggest problem is not lack of skill, but lack of confidence– they give European teams like England and Germany far too much respect. Spain reminded them of Mexico in the Confederations Cup, and look what happened.

If the US can finally overcome this psychological barrier, watch out England.

This discussion reminds me so much of a similar one between Canadians and Americans prior to the Olympic hockey final last winter … except the British are considerably better-natured than the Canadians were. Part of the anger was how the US press and populace supposedly gave little or no notice — just as is being said here — and thus there was no true understanding of the sport in America, etc. As is true in the World Cup the Americans fielded a mostly no-name squad against a foe made of superstars and in the opinion of most bloggers, the USA might as well not bother to show up. The result? The US team scared the bejesus out of Canada before finally losing in overtime. I can’t help but predict the same thing June 12 — the US will scare the complacency out of the English side before finally losing in a memorable squeaker.

I’m an American who has been obsessed with English football (EPL & Nat’l Team) my entire life, but there’s no f’ing way I’m pulling for England in the World Cup! I desperately want the US to win, and this game means EVERYTHING to me!!! To say that it doesn’t mean the “World” to a great many of us Yanks is to distort the truth and perpetuate some of the stereotypes that English people hold against Americans in regard to football/soccer. We have a huge country over here, chaps, and we’re damned good at accomplishing things when we put our minds to them. The way I see it, the English football aristocracy on this board who are predicting an easy victory are naive at best, and incredibly stupid in my opinion. This game against England is like the World Cup Final to most of our players and MILLIONS of Americans! If we were to succeed — I am not saying we will, but we’ll fight like hell — then it would validate our team for years to come. But, even if we did, we would still be looked upon as a second/third class national team by the elitist fans in England. The thing is, we REALLY don’t give a sh*t what the English think about our soccer team. The United States is the most powerful country on earth, and we kick your ass*s all over the place in other endeavors. So screw you if you win, and screw you if you lose!

alright boys what do you think about darren bent and theo walcott not going to the world cup. To be honest i think its a discrace theo walcott with that much speed on the ball and darren bent with the goals he had got in the premier league.

in all fairness, the united states have an avarage team that does have alot of heart. And as much as it means to the united states to beat england, England is a contender for winning the world cup and will be looking ahead of the USA match. if England are to survive and compete with teams like argentina spain and brazil they will have to put away teams like slovenia and the united states, which they honestly should do comfortably. players like lampard terry rooney gerrard and ferdinand play against teams in the premier league and the champions league week in week out with players who are twice as talented and play with their hearts on their sleeves. England are a stronger side than the united states in virtually every position and have much more depth on the bench. You really can’t see the defenders having a problem with any of the american forwards and on the other hand with the quality of players that Rooney has turned inside out for united, the united states defense should be no more problem than an average premier league team at most. predicting an england win by a comfortable two goals.

I’ ll be in Europe while the world cup is going on so you’ve got me all hyped up about how great the party is. I predict the U.S. will not get out of the first round. Too many injuries. Onyewu looks awful. No Charlie Davies, Altidore can’t get it done in big tournements. I’ll be wearing my Donovan jersey and cheering on the U.S. Here’s hoping it comes together for the U.S. team and we make it through the first round. My mom’s of English descent so I’m hoping England wins it all. My dad’s Irish so I hope the U.S. stick it to England.
Signed,
Pumped up American coming to a pub near you.

if England wins 3-0 i will suck ur nuts. but i am 100 percent it will not happen like that. the players will fight the English until the end. And if they don’t win in the field they’ll bring the Marines…. lol just joking… may the best team win.

I believe it will be a tight game,
i also believe england will win due
to the fact no englishman wants the americans
to say we beat england at soccor,
first of all its football not soccor the rest of
the world calls it football but you americans have
to be diffrent,
second of all we will not be beaten most of all
by a country whos bigger than ours and sends quarter
of the amount of troops to iraq and afganistan
then withdrawls and expects us to clear up the mess,
England 2-1 USA
(now cue unwitty comebacks from the americans)

well yes we have to call it soccer because your “football” word we borrowed it to make our own “football” (love the 49ers) and now we sell it to you to view up in England. you see how we’re much smarter?

America will always wins when it commes to Sports (soon soccer) and Entertainment. WE dominate in those aspects. Sorry it’s just how it is.

I doubt either team will be thinking about Iraq, Afghanistan, or anything else the English press likes to slam America about… Katrina? BP? (Whoops,
that’s British, ain’t it?) It is obvious, though, that both sets of fans share an essential trait that unites us in brotherhood: a complete inability to spell, capitalize or punctuate.

i support the US even tho i love England’s Team i live in the US but thats not why im supporting a US win my family and I are from Puerto Rico so it really doesn’t matter, Im supporting a US win cause they are clearly the Underdogs in the fight and they will be determined to WIN so they may stand a chance…

USA has every chance of claiming a victory and are very likely to do so. They are a far more structured and organised team than England. Their general passing game and attacking build up are far better than Englands. Game on.

America the most powerful country in the world? Well, that could be argued. But the Premier League, the best football league in the world? Well Yes, this is 100% true. We invented the game, and we invented the language you guys so eloquently like to speak. Football or Soccer, what ever. I don’t care. We have great players. We have an Italian coach, a proven one who has won everything and anything. The best preparation, our players play in the champions league year in, year out and most of them have won the trophy.

Our problem? We buckle, and as a nation we are waiting for it. I would prefer us to play you guys second, and not have you as our first match, but its the luck of the draw. We start slow and progress, which is why this isn’t convenient for us. But to say that we are over confident and arrogant is a joke, the English are their own worst critics. We are aware of you guys, you are a threat. But you are utterly delusional if you guys think we are arrogant. I still think we will dip you guys in acid and strip you bare, your quality of players do not play in top teams, your not proven, however the World Cup never goes as predicted. Yes you beat Spain, but somebody had to, their golden run was going on too long they had to have a hitch as its the only way you learn from mistakes. I think you guys will qualify as second in the group and perhaps progress, but you wont win on Saturday. It will be a good game though. But you wont win.

By the way, why do you think we don’t have earth quakes in England? God knows to not shit on his own doorstep. Just a thought….

about that commet of “God knows to not shit on his own doorstep,” I just feel very bad for you. Remember when Cal from Titanic movie saying…”God himself can’t sink this ship” Well you know what happended. Remember when the Beatles said, “We’re more populer than Jesus Christ,” and then they crumbled. Your comment is just like it. You curse ur own self when you use God’s name like that. Wish you luck in ur future endeavors. I hope God’s mercy will be upon you after what you said.

Hey guys stop fighting ok, as for me im not saying England is arrogant or the USA is arrogant none of that and technically “gods doorstep” is Israel not the UK… just a thought

and BTW they both speak English so it shouldn’t matter who wins ans whop losses if England wins ok then root for England the rest of the time if the US wins then root for the US its simple cause in my eyes they are both good teams.

Remember when the Beatles said, “We’re more populer than Jesus Christ,” and then they crumbled.

They crumbled? LOL

The biggest rock band in the history of the world crumbled? I think you need to seriously look at facts to back up your argument before you bother to argue.

The doorstep joke was exactly that, a joke, look up ‘sense of humour’ in the dictionary and see if you can acquire one.

We shall see who wins, but I am sticking to my countrymen and I know that this is a game that means more to us than it will ever matter to the US, so with pride and passion the 3 lions will do the business and then you guys can get back to discussing your baseball, and that girly version of rugby that you play, you know with all the padding and what not.

Are the beatles more popular than Jesus Christ? Yes or no Mr. England. though so. And 2nd, to God there is no such thing as sense of humor. “Don’t use ur god in vain.” That is what I mean. Now go back and idolize your English footzball, darn Hooligans. 5-0 usa and if they don’t win bring the marines to make sure they win it.

England is not better than US this year, i don’t care about old worlk cups forget the pass rookies. worry about the presend and then the future. USA doesnt dream to be better than England it already is. Maybe you English people should Dream about being better than the Lakers or The DAllas Cowboys. now there you guys are FAR AWAY. except rub bee, but rug bee is trash.

Naw jon, Rugby is not trash its the shit and as for American Football its the shit im sick of you guys going back and fourth bottom line is England & America are the shit regardless what the rest of the world thinks and as for the baseball comment the MLB aint got shit on the Caribbean league Baseball G… and Canada’s Rip off ass version of American Football is Fucking stupid… yea i said it Canada’s stupid ass Canadian League Football is stupid as fuck just as well as French Speaking Canadians…

The Brits will get a Royal Bafokeng as that is the name of the stadium and that is what the US will give them. Though, I think the US would settle for a draw and that is what I’m choosing as I can see them slowing the game down late just to take a draw.

Right, lets look at this, ok the form book goes out the window in these world cup games, but come on I could field a strong pensioners XI that USA’s 1st team. Lets not forget that most of these players have already tried their hand in the English leagues and failed miserably (exception, Dempsey. Donovan, I have to see more than half a season). Compared to the English side…… World Class throughout with a World class manager, no-one can disagree!! if you do you should not be watching football games.England’s team is on par with the likes of Italy, Spain, althought the latter will win the tournament. England will be no pushovers at this world cup, competetiveness is something they have never been short ofand there if fire in the belly which was lacking from previous world cups.
I hate to say all this being a Scotland fan, but the Yanks are going to get a real lesson come Saturday night. USA’s team reminds me of that of a struggling Championship side or even a half Decent League 1 side, against all that Champions League experience and Premier League experience. Hope the Americans enjoy horror shows.

Bocanegra, Onyewu!! They will be chasing after shadows with Ronney and Defoe.

I don’t think England winning this match at all. After I so the way they played Mexico and another country I don’t remover who is it. But the point is that England may only have names and that it. England can hardly keep possession for at least 10 touches and USA does. We have a new revolution of players in the States. Player that may be well be better technically than Rooney, Cole, Gerdar. Europe has always underestimated USA players. We are a very young nation of footballer but at this world cup we will see the product of three decades of high quality MLS player. Players like Donovan, Findley, Torres, Gomez, Dempsey, Buddle, Altidor. Holden.. etc ect the list goes on. any of these players can easily fit well in any super team around the globe. On may 13th the England defeat will be official until than USA will once and for all put it’s foot down and silence Eru world. We have the best influence of football right in America, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina. How much more can you ask? USA part of the last 8 teams for this 2010 world cup.

Hard core fans of Baseball MLB or MLB basketball, or “football” meaning American football where they have a quarterback, don’t accept European football as a real sport. Sorry to say that, but It’s true: I live here in the USA and see it. They don’t score enough…. it’s boring… there is no fun, and they seem skinny un unhealthy. Here in America we like to see our athelets strong and almost buff or else they are weak. I know Americans wil notl suffer if USA national team loses–because they just don’t care about a sissi’s game—, but England woudl suffer emotinally. Seel for American to accept soccer..”football like you guys call it” it’s going to take more than decades. But I hope the boys will win. go USA!!

Just putting in my pennies worth. Naturally I’m bias coz I’m from England. I think USA might be underestimated and play a good game but I honestly think for technical ability USA doesn’t match England. I work with a heap of Americans and it’s good to see them getting into the FOOTBALL spirit. Just my opinion but think it’s gonna be 2 England 1 USA. It’s gonna be a good game. Bring it USA, our boys are ready.

Gaffer, I am not sure I entirely believe you. I think here you may be catering to the US fans you live amongste. Come to think of it, who would you support if Wales played England as I know you like Swansea…

I think its right for pundits (and most pundits I have heard) have said do not take America likely. You listen to a lot of the same podcasts and read the twitter feeds as I and hardly anyone is saying England will walk the game and a few think we’ll lose. I do think its right to the praise the US on their fitness, for a longtime I have thought Americans to be a fitter side than England, that’s not backhanded but I do think they just work harder as a unit. England are better at set plays (that could be taken as back handed but its true) and England are technically better but probably not by much.

If I were to kidnap you and put you in a room and force you to put your house on one or the other – would you honestly take America? I felt the US was a better team 4 years ago than now but could well be proven wrong.

Personally I think England will draw the opener but I hope we nick it.
I am looking beyond the group stage as if we dont get out of this group we dont deserve to be at the Cup. I hope the US team is sensible enough to look beyond the England game to the more important 2 games that follow it.

Simon, the US is one of those teams that does well against big countries. They almost beat Italy in the 2006 World Cup when they drew 1-1. They beat Spain in the Confederations Cup last summer and almost beat Brazil. They beat Portugal in 2002. They almost beat Brazil in 1994. The list goes on and on.

If they play up to and beyond what they’re capable of, I believe they can win. If you kidnapped me and put me in a room, I still would pick the US to win.

That said, it’s all up to the US team on the day. They need to show up!

Do the Americans actually know that this “World Cup” involves other countries? (for those who dont know what other countires are, google it!!)

I mean, Baseball, Basketball WORLD SERIES!! with only American teams!! do me a favour!! So what have we established? We have established there are a lot of people who are severley disabled in the head if they think USA are going to beat England!!

Fred…. my boy they were friendly games, Spain only beat Korea 1-0 does that mean there shit? of course not it means they tried things differently!
As for only having names!!!! these names have won many trophies between them and I seem to remember us beating Croatia 5-1 in our last competitive game. (That means not a friendly!!)

It is however pleasing to see that some of the smarter people of your nation have actually come up with some good points and been rather nice about proceedings, however………
My favorite comment on here so far is “the US are more organised and structured, with a better passing game!!!” hahahahahahahahaha better organised than a Fabio Capello team!!! I cant fucking wait till saturday!! oh another comment I liked was “If we dont win we’ll send in the marines!!” Is the person who left that on fucking glue!! No wonder the western world sees you lot as the drunken Auntie who sits and gets pissed, fat and has an opinion on everything even when she has no fucking idea of the context!!

I wish all the 14 year olds posting things like ‘omgwtfzzzzzz englind 2 winzzz 30-0’ or ‘USAUSAUSAUSA ftw’ would just leave. every intelligent discussion eventually turns into everyone slinging insults which are totally irrelevant to the original subject. Examples: Revolutionary War/Afghanistan.

I’m from England and will be supporting England, everyone has a chance against us that is how it is. See David James blooper reel.

We have the experience and I think that will be enough to get the win. It makes me laugh how “much” people think it means to the nation as a whole.

It basically involves crap merchants peddling everything with an England flag on it with in the guise buying into a fake nationalistic pride.

Well that and a large portion of the population (who don’t usually watch football) getting drunk on their job seekers allowance then rioting or passing out in the streets soaked in their own blood and urine.

I can only hope that the England team have the same poor attitude as some of the people that have been posying on here. I mean if they believe they are playing a second rate team as well then it’ll make an easy win for the US 😉

@hfisd9envvkeu
Use your head. The Americans can’t exactly call it football now can we. Do your research on “American Football” to see why it’s called football thus “Football” is soccer. Do they call them Brazilian nuts in Brazil? Dumbass. It was a derivative of rugby football from your own damned country. You yourself probably don’t fare well in geography from this side of the world. Use your brain… don’t fart it.